Lorna Shore - I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me - review
Lorna Shore - I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me - review
Tracklist
01. Prison Of Flesh02. Oblivion
03. In Darkness
04. Unbreakable
05. Glenwood
06. Lionheart
07. Death Can Take Me
08. War Machine
09. A Nameless Hymn
10. Forevermore
A review by
musclassia September 22, 2025
Lorna Shore were already making serious waves prior to Ramos’s arrival, with Immortal ready to launch the the rising band into orbit until its release was preceded by the band firing their vocalist. However, the massive response to “To The Hellfire”, Ramos’s first song with the band, took things to a whole new level, and the three-song EP ...And I Return To Nothingness already had the group on the precipice of being the biggest name in not just symphonic deathcore, but deathcore as a whole. Pain Remains was a respectable follow-up, but in spite of it further escalating the symphonic bombast of the band, it felt like it was missing something to fully live up to that EP. I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me is a continuation of the trajectory plotted by the previous few releases, but the execution really plays to the strengths of the approach this time.
My review of Pain Remains compared it slightly unfavourably to Elegy, the same-year release of their symphonic deathcore peers Shadow Of Intent, particularly when it came to song-to-song memorability and the integration of the symphonic elements. Curiously, the tables have slightly turned between the bands this year; Imperium Delirium scaled back the orchestrations and saw Shadow Of Intent’s songs reverted closer to classic deathcore to the arguable detriment of their memorability, but I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me sees Lorna Shore spread their choirs and orchestral arrangements more widely across songs, while taking the metal side of the sound to a point that starts to transcend deathcore. There’s still a consistent number of their apocalyptic breakdowns, but the main riffs, even if stripped of the symphonic/keyboard layers, less and less resemble deathcore riffs; when you have a song like “Glenwood” that does away with breakdowns altogether, the result arguably isn’t deathcore at all.
These changes are partially responsible for addressing my biggest issue with Pain Remains, namely that the songs (closing title track aside) rather blended together, but the increased memorability in the tracks here can also be credited to improvements in songwriting. After a brief atmospheric build, the album gets off to a flyer with “Prison Of Flesh”, which has the typical assault of blast beats and double bass drum rolls, but quiet early on, a sudden quick-fire exchange of lead guitar melody, chorals, and a flamboyant piano flourish shows off a joyful exuberance amidst an onslaught of riffing that takes cues from black metal and tech-death. It’s a maximalist song, with grandiose chorus arrangements, the first of many scene-stealing solos, and two chonky breakdowns, but it’s a great introduction to the album.
Coming right after is this album’s first single and breakout hit, “Oblivion”, a truly epic track that really delivers in having a truly anthemic chorus, the band for once slowing things down and giving its central melody space to shine, but there’s also plenty full-pelt aggression across blackened deathcore verses and cavernous breakdowns. While praising the record for improving the memorability, it is worth pausing to acknowledge that Lorna Shore still rely heavily on a number of recurring songwriting elements that do bring a formulaic feel to parts of the album. Whether it’s the quiet intro going instantly into blasts, the band fade-out before the first and/or final chorus, the pyrotechnic solo going straight into a breakdown, the big synth/guitar melody above a blast-heavy chorus, said melodies using very similar phrasings or note sequences, or one of several other habits, the reliance upon these elements can become excessive when encountered repeatedly across a record.
The next stretch of the album does encounter this issue; “In Darkness”, “Unbreakable”, and “Glenwood” are (final song aside) the most melodic songs on I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me, and they repeat a lot of very similar moments: early blasts, melodic guitar chorus hook, big dramatic guitar solo, final chorus key modulation (not in “Unbreakable”). There are moments when the repetitive writing does become a tad frustrating; for example, as much as the band are making greater use of the symphonic elements outside of song intros and choruses on this record, it would still be nice to see them dabble further with them in the breakdowns, which “Unbreakable” teases at in the beginning of its post-solo breakdown before stripping everything away again for the usual sound. However, each song has very satisfyingly memorable hooks, and in spite of my regular complaining over final chorus modulations in other reviews, I do like them when the new key offers a satisfying resolution, and the extra majesty in the final repeats of “In Darkness” and “Glenwood” are very likeable. While not all fans will enjoy this direction towards heightened bombast, I feel like this trio of songs is a good demonstration of how to successfully explore this avenue.
After this streak of similar songs, there is thankfully a subsequent increase in variety in the second half of the record. It’s not massively so to begin with, as “Lionheart” bears plenty of similarities with its predecessors, but the choral arrangements in the pre-chorus deliver a fantastical charm that feels very fresh and fitting with the song name. It’s quite a contrast to the darkness that follows; “Death Can Take Me” has a more measured bleakness to it, between the tasty chugging riffs that punctuate the typical blasting fury or the extensive tense build before the final breakdown, but it also reaches new heights of stirring drama with the bombastic intensity of its chorus, while “A Nameless Hymn” is the closest that Lorna Shore have gotten to blackened deathcore since perhaps Flesh Coffin (hear those sickly shrieks in the chorus, as well as evil-sounding tremolo riffs). The biggest wildcard is “War Machine”; sounds effects of guns and screaming crowds aside, the groovy riffs and thrashy verse rhythms offer a very different feel to much of the record.
On top of some points already raised above, there are other criticisms that can be raised about the record, or at least areas that some people won’t enjoy. The production of the album is very maximalist all round; the symphonic elements may overpower the guitars at times, while the drums remain very high in the mix. At times, I can’t quite tell whether certain sonic booms from the drums kicking in are intentional or a product of a pursuit for loudness. The breakdowns will also be offputting to some with their frequency and similarity; alongside "Unbreakable" as mentioned earlier, I feel that “Lionheart” and “A Nameless Hymn” also squander opportunities to use the symphonics to shake up the breakdowns, but on the flip side, that aforementioned final breakdown in “Death Can Take Me” is very gratifying coming after such a long ominous prelude.
In spite of the length of this review already, I feel like there’s plenty more I could still discuss about I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me. It’s a record where its flaws, or at least its points of contention, feel quite evident, but it also has plenty of strengths to counteract them, such that it ultimately ranks among my favourite releases of 2025 to date. It’s an album that should cement Lorna Shore’s place at the forefront of the deathcore scene, even if it’s a record that makes their ties to that scene increasingly tenuous.
Written on 22.09.2025 by
Written on 22.09.2025 by
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Posts: 154
What is this band is doing for us, album after album with new heavy and catchy and most important is so emotional.
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Posts: 6212
I haven't heard the album yet. But it's high up there in the running for the most embarrassingly stuck-up and pretentious album title.
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Posts: 1824 Written by Daniell on 24.09.2025 at 12:23 I’ve seen way worse. *Cough*EmptinessNotForMusic*Cough* This just reminds me of The Black Dahlia Murder.
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Posts: 13  |
Posts: 13
The vocals aren't for me at all; they remind me of disgusting burping or someone trying to vomit. I had a similar experience with Carnosus.
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